/ About Darknet

Darknet is a horror anthology web series designed for a 21st century internet mindset. Adapted from the cult Japanese television series, Tori Hada, by Vincenzo Natali (HAUNTER, SPLICE, CUBE) and Steven Hoban (HAUNTER, SPLICE, WOLVES, BLACK CHRISTMAS, GINGER SNAPS TRILOGY). Darknet offers snippets of people's lives being interrupted by vivid instances of unexpected violence or shocking strangeness. Viewers become part of the Darknet, a mysterious closed network of disturbing imagery and stories that exist just under the surface of our ordered and safe society.

Darknet is available on Super Channel in Canada and to stream on Netflix US, Canada, UK and Ireland.

/ Filmmakers

Vincenzo Natali - Episode 1

Director Vincenzo Natali is no stranger to dystopia; each of his five features thrusts ordinary characters into a dark realm governed by seemingly impenetrable logic, and follows the subjects as they struggle to come to terms with their environs. Natali burst onto the scene in 1997 with his surreal, low-budget sci-fi thriller Cube. This
enigmatic film weaves a tale of a group of people clamoring to escape from an obscure cubic labyrinth where the casualty of a misstep involves full dismemberment by the cube itself. The film impressed viewers and critics alike with Natali's ability to stretch cinematic boundaries on a shoestring budget, and became a cult favorite. Natali's 2002 follow-up, Cypher, starred Jeremy Northam and Lucy Liu in the tale of a man who assumes a new identity in preparation for an espionage career, but instead gets systematically brainwashed and finds himself engulfed in a shaky, paranoid reality. The film performed well internationally and paved the way for 2003's Nothing. Described by Natali as "a buddy comedy set in a void," the film follows two eccentrics who literally wish the world out of existence and end up in a limitless white landscape.

Natali then shot a documentary on Terry Gilliam's production of Tideland, which premiered concurrently with the feature in 2005. He also contributed a segment, Quartier de la Madeleine, to the 2006 portmanteau film, Paris Je T'aime. Natali's fourth feature Splice received a wide release by Warner Bros in summer 2010. It starred Adrien Brody and Sarah Polley as two rebellious scientists who defy ethical boundaries to forge ahead with a dangerous genetic experiment, resulting in a new organism. The creature rapidly develops into a beautiful but dangerous winged humanchimera, who forges a bond with both of her creators -- only to have that bond turn deadly. Recently released is Natali’s supernatural thriller Haunter starring Abigail Breslin. He is currently shooting season 3 of Hannibal and adapting William Gibson’s seminal cyberpunk novel, Neuromancer.

Steve Hoban - Episode 2

Steve Hoban has produced some of Canada's most acclaimed films. Currently in post production is CHRISTMAS HORROR STORY starring William Shatner and soon to be released films include DEBUG starring Jeananne Goossen with Jason Momoa and WOLVES starring Lucas Till and Jason Momoa, directed by David Hayter (X-MEN, WATCHMEN). Previous films are HAUNTER starring Abigail Breslin and directed by Vincenzo Natali; the Warner Bros released Splice (the highest grossing Canadian film of 2010) starring Adrien Brody and Sarah Polley, the comedy Young People Fucking (the highest grossing English Canadian movie of 2008) and the remake of the 70s horror classic Black Christmas directed by Glen Morgan (X-Files, Final Destination). Other films include the 2005 Academy Award-winning short animated film Ryan, directed by Chris Landreth and the independent hit trilogy Ginger Snaps.

Brett Sullivan - Episode 3

Brett Sullivan has edited numerous features and over one hundred hours of television, receiving respective Genie and Gemini nominations in 2001 for Ginger Snaps and Lucky Girl. He won a Gemini Award in 1998 for Best Picture Editing in a Dramatic Program or Series for Psi Factor. Most recently, Brett won an inaugural Canadian Screen Award for Best Dramatic Editing for an episode of Flashpoint. In 1998 he wrote and directed his first short film, Shudder, followed by 6ix in 1999 and The Promise, starring Gordon and Leah Pinsent in 2001. Sullivan also attended the Director's Resident Programme at the Canadian Film Centre in 2001. Ginger Snaps II: Unleashed (2004), his feature directorial debut was an incredible success critically and at the box office. It continues to be a festival favourite worldwide and is a hot DVD seller. His second feature, The Chair, an über low budget indie film (shot in his house), has been sold worldwide and received many international awards, including Best Director at the Canadian Film Festival and Best Feature at several other Festivals. Brett has directed many episodes of television including The Border, Flashpoint, Cracked, Lost Girl and Orphan Black. He has several projects in development.

Jeremy Ball - Episode 4

Before attending the Canadian Film Centre's Directing Lab in 2011, Jeremy spent more than a decade in the People's Republic of China where he completed an MA in Film Studies at the Beijing Film Academy and cut his teeth in the Art and Visual Effects departments of numerous Chinese and Western co-productions. His first short film, Sync, filmed on location in Beijing was completed in 2011 and went onto premiere at the Seattle International Film Festival's One Reel Festival that same year. His follow up, Frost, completed as part of the CFC's Short Dramatic Film program, was nominated for Canadian Screen and DGC awards in 2013 and has screened at festivals around the world. His most recent film, The Archivist, was featured as part of the Stage to Screen series celebrating 100 years of Toronto's historic Elgin & Winter Garden Theatres.

Anthony Scott Burns - Episode 5

Deeply involved and fascinated by film from a young age, Burns would build small models that he called his "parallel universes". By the age of 16, he began working on films, and was creating his own just two years later at 18. To expand his job opportunities he then moved to Toronto, where he landed a job at a boutique design firm and later got hired by MTV Canada as Senior Designer. Later on, Burns started directing commercials and performing VFX on multiple shoots. Anthony recently directed the short "Manifold", which had its world premiere at Fantastic Fest 2013.

Rodrigo Gudiño - Episode 6

Rodrigo Gudiño is founder and president of Rue Morgue horror themed entertainment empire; publisher of Rue Morgue Magazine, senior coordinator of the Rue Morgue Festival of Fear National Horror Expo, producer of the Rue Morgue Podcast and co-programmer of Rue Morgue's CineMacabre Movie Nights. Rodrigo's acclaimed directorial debut, The Last Will and Testament of Rosalind Leigh, stars Aaroon Poole and Academy Award winner Vanessa Redgrave. He has also written and directed the festival favourite short films The Facts in the Case of Mister Hollow, The Demonology of Desire and The Eyes of Edward James.

/ Cast - Episode 1

David Hewlett

David's acting career began in his early teens when he hooked up with Vincenzo Natali on his early filmmaking endeavors. Over the years David has starred in countless films including the cult classic Cube, Cypher, Splice, Helen with Ashley Judd, Whistleblower with Rachel Weisz and the international blockbuster Rise of the Planet of the Apes, alongside troops of angry primates. He has guest starred on many familiar TV series, including ER, The Closer, Without A Trace, The District, Hellcats as well as recurring in Kung Fu: The Legend Continues and Traders.

During his five years as the fan-favourite Dr Rodney Mckay on "Stargate Atlantis" David wrote and directed his first film, A Dog's Breakfast (produced by his wife and partner-in-crime Jane Loughman) which was picked up for distribution by MGM and 20th Century Fox. David is currently in post-production on Debug, a science-fiction thriller that pits a team of young computer hackers, stranded in space, against a treacherous intelligence hell-bent on their destruction. Debug is written and directed by Hewlett and it reunites him with his Atlantis co-star Jason Momoa (Game of Thrones, Wolves).

David Hewlett can be found, followed and occasionally interrogated at: @dhewlett

Michelle Alexander

Born and raised on Vancouver Island, BC, Michelle always knew she wanted to be an actor. After finishing high school she moved to Windsor, Ontario to attend the University of Windsor's Acting program. After graduating with her BFA, Michelle planned to move back to Vancouver, but she immediately landed the role of Rosalind in As You Like It for Brampton's Flower City Festival and plans changed!

Michelle has spent the last 6 years in Toronto developing her career both in front of the camera and in theatre. In addition to being an actor, Michelle is the current Associate Artistic Director at Nightwood Theatre - Canada's National Women's Theatre. As an actor she has worked on numerous television, film and commercial projects. Before landing the role of Alison on Darknet, selected credits include: Played (CTV) and Beauty and the Beast (CW Network). Michelle is set to appear in the short film Mr. Beard.